Playing With Fire
by dramoli
Summary: Love is a lot like fire, the closer you get the warmer you feel, but be careful, if you get too close you may end up burned.
1. chapter 1

_**A/N: Hello there, so technically this isn't my first fanfiction, I used to write years ago but somehow life got in the way and I stopped writing and reading fanfiction for several years, I only went back a few months ago and now here I am, submitting my first story.**_ _ **I want to warn you, English is not my native language, however I decided to write in english as a way to help me practice my grammar and the language itself, if you found something that doesn't make sense I would really appreciate if you let me know. Also any feedback is welcomed with open arms.**_ _ **Hope you enjoy the story! Please review and let mw know if you think I should keep on working on this.**_

_

Chapter 1

"You can do this" she said to her reflection on the bathroom mirror "it's normal to feel nervous, but you can do this."

Giving her mirror self one last look of encouragement she straightened her blue scrubs and walked out the bathroom towards the Healer Training Director's office in the third floor.

Today was the first day of her residency year as a Junior Healer, the practical training year.

After the war she had returned to Hogwarts to finish her education, trying to buy some time to decide what she wanted to do, everyone was offering her jobs, everyone wanted "The Mastermind" of the Golden Trio to work for them, but honestly, Hermione Granger didn't had a clue about what she wanted to do with her life, she hadn't expected to survive the war after all.

So she went back to Hogwarts to finish seventh year and after graduating she found herself working in the Ministry of Magic, for the Department for Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures and while she liked her job very much, she even enjoyed it, after almost a year it started to feel off, like she was doing what was expected from her instead what she was meant to be doing.

She was very good at it, but she didn't feel the joy radiate from her when she talked about her work like Harry did when he shared the details of his new mission as an Auror or the way Ron's face would illuminate when he discussed his last Quidditch match.

So after doing some soul searching, she came to the conclusion that, while she loved caring for magical creatures and their rights, she actually enjoyed more taking care of humans, and so she decided to quit her job at the Ministry and went to the Healer Academy instead, she had spent a good four years studying and had graduated just last May. And now the fun part began, the practical training part, the actual healing part, she would now be practicing in living people and that was a little bit intimidating because if she messed up, there would be actual consequences.

She had spent the last year of her healer studies doing what was called an "internship", which meant that she had to be in practical training in St. Mungo's in the morning and have theoretical classes in the afternoon, and while she had performed some healing during that time, almost everything was done by the Senior and Junior Healers while the rest of them - the interns- just watched and took notes.

But now, she was a Junior Healer, which meant she would do most of the job, still supervised by a Senior Healer of course, in case she got in over her head, but most of the responsibility would be on her.

After the graduation the new healers were sorted out to go to one specialized wizarding hospital to complete their practical training year. The selection was held the day after the graduation ceremony and they had to be present at said hospital the following month to start.

She had been sorted to the Dragonology Research and Healing Center, which was, of course, located in a Dragon Reserve, in Romania of all places. In spite of being located in such a secluded and rather small area, it was one of the biggest medimagic research centers in the wizarding world, given all the impact the magic of the dragons had in all aspects of the wizarding life. Their skin, blood and other body parts were used in so many potions, antidotes, and in common use products.

She was surprised at first, she hadn't expected to move so far away but she knew the challenge it would represent, if there was a place where she would get some hands-on practical training it would be there, Dragon Tamers almost lived in the healing center, coming in every other day with work related injuries, after all, taking care of dragons wasn't an easy task, that's what Charlie Weasley always said when he got scolded by Molly for having one or more bandages covering his body every time he went to visit his family at The Burrow.

It was actually Charlie Weasley the main reason why she was feeling so nervous today. The fact that she may encounter him for the first time since their incident last Christmas made her stomach flutter with unease.

She had made sure to avoid interaction with him since then, which wasn't hard because he hadn't been back to London after Christmas and now she was here, of all the places she could've been sorted to, she was here in the very same Dragon Reserve where he lived and worked, she could only imagine what it would look like for him once he knew that she was going to spend a whole year there. It would look like she was following him or something.

She stopped in front of the Director's office, trying to steel her nerves before knocking twice and heard the man's voice inside asking her to come in.

"Good morning Sir" she said as she made her way into the office and stood in front of him offering her hand to shake "I'm Hermione Granger, the new Junior Healer resident"

"I know who you are Miss Granger" Richard Winterbottom stood from his chair, he was wearing a white healer robe with his name on it, offering her a warm smile he shook her hand giving it a strong squeeze, motioning for her to take a seat in front of him "I've heard wonderful things about you, we are very pleased to have you here."

"Thank you Sir, I'm very excited to be here as well, this is one of the biggest research centers in the world" Hermione sat, her hands clasped on her lap trying not to show her nerves "I'm really interested on how the dragon's magic impact our abilities as witches and wizards."

"That's actually one of the main reasons you were sorted here, your own research was a key factor on the selection."

Before Hermione could respond, there was a high beeping sound coming from the small chart board that was sitting on the desk in front of her, Healer Winterbottom lifted it to his face as he stood up from his chair in a hurried pace.

"Well I'm afraid the rest of this conversation would have to wait Miss Granger, we have an emergency coming in" he went to the door and opened it while the charts in his hand started to buzz and beep again "if you could follow me, we'll be starting your training sooner than expected"

Hermione stood up quickly and followed him down the hallway into one of the lifts on their way down to the Emergency Area of the Healing Center, there were a lot of healers running around everywhere, from bed to bed, some people where bleeding, some had clothes that were still on fire, it was madness.

"What happened?" She heard Healer Winterbottom ask one of the healers.

"A very angry Horntail made its way out the sanctuary wards and into the village" the healer replied while she kept rubbing some ointment over the arm of a witch that was seating in one of the beds "The Dragon Tamers managed to subdue it before it could cause more damages, but there were still a few cabins that catched the fire"

"Healer Granger, I need you to go and help the other Healers clean and treat the burn patients before the Tamers arrive with what I can only imagine would be some very nasty burns and cuts"

"Yes Sir" she made her way towards the beds with patients on it, lending a hand to the Senior Healers treating them, applying burn-healing paste and securing bandages.

"A little help here please!" Two tall wizards appeared through the doors, they were carrying a blonde guy whose clothes were still smoking and had a huge gash on his leg, covered with an improvised bandage made out of what it appeared to be the sleeve of a shirt that was soaking in blood, they made their way to an empty bed and lied him down while several healers approached them.

"Healer Granger come here please!" She made her way to the bed where the blonde guy was screaming in pain as one of the nurses was trying to remove the improvised bandage from his bleeding leg "I need you to diagnose his condition so we can medicate him properly"

Hermione aimed her wand all over his body casting diagnosis spells as the information started appearing in her charts, with the injuries he had and the potions and spells they need to give him to make him better

"Hey you're new" said the blonde guy, appearing calmer after he drank the pain potion she gave him "I haven't seen you before"

"She's our new resident Junior Healer" added Healer Winterbottom while he kept inspecting the cut in his leg "it's her first day"

"Well aren't I lucky to be healed by such a pretty witch like you" the blonde smiled cheekily at her and gave her a wink, she had to suppress a laugh that even in his state he was in such a flirty mood

"Healer Winterbottom, we need you here!" A nurse yelled from the other end of the emergency room.

"Alright, all yours, clean and bandage the wound" he said walking away and leaving her to tend to the injured guy.

"You know, if you're going to see me naked at least you could tell me your name love" He said when she banished his pants so she could have better access to the wound.

"Seriously Mack? You're flirting with her?" She heard a familiar masculine voice behind her but she didn't turned, she kept cleaning the wound and applying a few drops of dittany on it.

"Bite me Weasley!" He said still smiling, looking at her

"I would, but Penelope already did and you know I don't like to share"

"I'm going to put a bandage over this and also a splint to immobilize your leg, your muscles are badly damaged but they're not completely torn, still you will have to spend at least a week without walking in order to heal properly" Hermione managed to say as calm as she could knowing that Charlie Weasley was standing behind her.

"A week?! That's too bloody long" said the blonde dragon tamer with a pout.

"You're lucky it's just a week, a dragon bite can tear off your leg completely! Now stay still so I can immobilize your leg"

"Only if you tell me your name love"

"I'm Healer Granger..."

"Wait...Healer Granger?" She felt a hand at her shoulder pulling her to turn around.

She turned around slowly and she felt the air escaped her lungs at the sight of Charlie Weasley, his shirt was ripped in the front showing part of his muscular torso, with a few scratches here and there over his freckled skin, his jeans were ripped on the knee and burnt in the other leg, his hair was shorter that the last time she saw him, barely reaching his shoulders and she couldn't help but think that he looked even more handsome in this disheveled way, he looked wild and dangerous, just by looking at him she felt a warmth crawl from her stomach and down between her legs.

"Hermione?" Surprise was written all over his handsome face.

"Hello Charlie"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"What are you doing here?" Charlie was looking at her with a mix of shock and disbelief, he seemed upset by her presence.

"Well it's nice to see you too Charles," she replied a little offended by his reaction.

"You know each other?" Asked the third dragon tamer, the one that hadn't said a word the entire time.

"I'm a family friend," she replied when Charlie didn't said anything just kept looking at her, extending her hand towards the dark haired wizard that asked the question. "My name is Hermione Granger."

"Damon Forbes," he responded shaking her hand and she looked at him for the first time, he was as tall as Charlie although his complexion was heavier, he was wearing his dragon tamer gear which consisted in a pair of some sort of leather pants and a matching vest with a black shirt underneath, his arms covered in tattoos, he had dark long hair that was currently tied in a low ponytail, his eyes were an olive shade of green.

"And I'm Mack Davis, not that anyone bothered to introduce me," said the blonde dragon tamer still on the bed, wearing only a burned and ripped t-shirt under his open uniform vest and his boxers, his left leg completely covered in bandages.

"Hermione," Charlie called again. "What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" She crossed her arms over her chest, "I'm a Healer, so I'm healing people."

"You know what I mean," his voice sounded softer this time, like he'd finally realized he was being rather rude.

"I was sorted to complete my residency training year in this Healing Center," she said softly, turning to Mack and with a flick of her wand a splint appeared on his leg forcing him to keep it straight.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" She could feel his eyes burning the back of her neck, still she didn't turned around.

"It's not like we owl each other is it? Besides I thought Molly or Ron would've tell you by now." She focused on her charts, updating the patient information on Mack.

"They didn't." His voice sounded stern.

"Well I'm here, so now you know," she said still with her back to him, checking everything with her patient was the way it supposed to, "You're gonna have to stay here a few hours just until the wound stabilizes a little more, I'll come and check on you later, alright?"

"You're welcome to check on me all you want, as often as you like," teased Mack giving her his best smile and she couldn't contain a laugh.

"Just so you know, flirting with me won't get you out of that splint any sooner than it needs to," she replied, her lips still curled on a smile, she finally turned around to see the redhead, his gaze so intense she almost couldn't take it "You can stay and keep him company if you want."

They nodded and before Charlie could say anything else, she made her way to the other end of the Emergency Area on to another patient.

/

Hermione was sitting alone in a table on the corner of the pub she'd encountered on her way back from work, she was starving and since she didn't had anything to eat at her cabin yet, she decided to get dinner and maybe a drink before she went home.

Her first day had been hard, so busy with all the people injured by the dragon incident that day, however in spite of how tired she felt she also felt super excited and like that rush of adrenaline could've kept her going for hours if Healer Winterbottom hadn't demanded her to go home. She took a large swig of her butterbeer ignoring the way her stomach protested for the lack of food.

"Well, well, look who it is, my new favorite Healer," she lifted her head to find her patient for the day, Mack standing up with the help of a pair of crutches, one under each arm, accompanied by the other dragon tamer she'd seen in the Healing Center, Damon, a girl she didn't know but recognize from the Healing Center as well, she was a healer too, and of course, none other than Charlie Weasley "Mind if we join you? The pub's full."

"Of course not," she motioned for them to take a seat along the chairs that sat around the table.

"Thanks!" Mack sat down to her left and extended his injured leg on the empty chair next to him while Damon and the girl she didn't know her name sat in front of them, leaving Charlie to sit next to her on her right side "have you met Kat yet? She's a healer too."

"Katherine Ballard," she extended her hand for Hermione to shake, giving her a warm smile, she was really pretty, she had black long curly hair and grey eyes. "I saw you today at work but didn't had a chance to introduce myself, things were crazy with all the patients coming in."

"Hermione Granger," she took her hand "I know right, I think I've done more healing today than in my whole internship year."

"Get used to it, things around here are always busy, Dragon Tamers are crazy and have no appreciation whatsoever for their lives," Kat replied teasing.

"Hey I resent that," Mack put a hand on his chest making an offended face.

"It's the truth, just look at your leg." Kat looked pointedly at him.

"My leg is perfectly fine thanks to this one here," Mack replied pointing to Hermione.

"Speaking of your leg," she turned on her seat to look at him seriously. "This is not what I had in mind when I told to rest."

"Exactly what did you have in mind?" Mack looked at her with a raised eyebrow and mirth in his eyes.

"I meant rest, as in bed rest, you lying in an actual bed so your leg can heal properly," she frowned when he wiggled his eyebrows at her mention of bedrest.

"Well you're welcome to put me to bed anytime you want," he said giving her a wink and everyone laughed at the face she was making.

" Is he always this forward?" Hermione asked Kat.

"Always" responded Kat, Damon and Charlie at the same time and Hermione turned to look at the redhead, that was the first word he'd said since they sat down.

"Have you eaten yet?" He asked looking at her with those intense eyes that always managed to make her nervous.

"Not yet, I was trying to decide what to order," she pointed to the menu in front of her.

"The chicken pot pie is really good, you should try it."

"Okay, I'll get that." she started to look around for a waiter.

"You have to order at the counter, come on," before she could say anything he grabbed her hand, pulled her to her feet and walked them to the counter "Hey Albert, can you add a plate of chicken pot pie to our order?"

"And a butterbeer, please," she added when the older wizard behind the counter turned to look at them.

"Coming right up" he said with a gentle smile.

"Thank you" Hermione went to turn around to their table but Charlie's hand on her arm stopped her.

"Hermione wait..." she turned to look at his face first and then down to his hand on her arm and then back at him again, lifting and eyebrow expectant, he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, clearly uncomfortable "I'm sorry for being so rude earlier, I was just surprised to see you here of all places."

"It's okay, I would've been surprised too," she made a dismissive wave with her free hand and made to turn round again but he didn't let her arm go so she looked at him.

"It _is_ nice to see you," he said in a deep voice, his intense blue eyes looking her upside down, from the messy bun her hair was tied in, to her face, down to her black tank top and skinny jeans, he seemed to be absorbing every inch of her appearance, making her nervous. "You look good."

"You too, a little burnt, but good," she replied with a smile at how his arm was covered in small bandages.

/

"So how do you know each other again?" Asked Kat putting her fork down after finishing her dinner.

"She's been part of my family since she was twelve," Charlie replied before taking a mouthful of his chicken pot pie.

"Oh wait..."Kat's face lighted up with recognition "That's why I thought you look familiar, you're Charlie's brother girlfriend right? You used to be all over Witch Weekly, 'Golden Couple' and all."

Hermione could've sweared she felt Charlie tense next to her but his face remained calm, she on the other hand felt very uncomfortable, taking a long drink from her glass she corrected, "ex-girlfriend, we split up three years ago."

"Oh...sorry."

"So you're single then," Mack, broke the awkward silence that had fell on the table, she couldn't help but laugh.

"Yes, I am single" she could feel Charlie shuffle in his seat.

"Wait...You're that Hermione Granger," said suddenly Damon like he just had discovered the earth wasn't round.

"I thought we've established that already."

"No, I mean, you're that Hermione, the one Charlie told us about riding that blind dragon out of Gringotts."

"Eeem...yes I am that Hermione," she suddenly felt her cheeks blush when another three pair of eyes fixed in her.

"Damn it witch! You're crazy!" the way Damon was looking at her was pure admiration and respect.

"I'm not crazy, it just seemed like the best option at the moment," she concentrated in a knot of wood on the table, feeling a little embarrassed.

"He meant it as a compliment" Charlie clarified putting his hand briefly over hers when he noticed the blush on her cheeks.

"Damn right I did!"

"Oh...thanks...I think" she looked at him confused, he was such a character.

"So when did you arrived?" Asked Kat taking her glass to her lips, leaning down in her chair resting against Damon's side.

"Yesterday afternoon."

"Had they assigned you a cabin yet?"

"Yes, the cabins near the Healing Center were all full, so they put me in one in the Dragon Tamer housing compound"

"Well isn't that convenient," chuckled Mack next to her, "You'll be so close to me, you know in case that you get lonely."

"I'm not sure if that comforts me or worries me," Hermione drank what was left of her beer and the rest of them laughed, included Mack.

"Well I'll be close by too, in case this one tries to keep you company more than necessary," Charlie pointed to Mack and she felt how he casually put an arm around the back of her chair and gave her one of those looks she liked so much.

"Now that _is_ a comforting thought," she said smiling, leaning just a little bit closer to his side.

"Should we get another round?" Asked Damon as he finished his drink.

"As tempting as that sounds I think I better go home, I have early rounds in the morning," she left some galleons on the table to cover her bill and stood up putting her jacket back on "It was nice to meet you all."

"You too, I'll see you tomorrow at work," said Kat with a smile.

"I'll come with you," Charlie stood up too, leaving money for his bill as well.

"That's not necessary."

"Come on I have to make sure you don't get lost," he joked as he put a hand on her back to guide her to the exit, "See you tomorrow guys."

"I can go home by myself, you don't have to come with me," she said as they walked out of the pub, Charlie's hand still on her back.

"I don't mind, besides I had to make sure Mack didn't tried to take you home instead," he joked as they started walking down the street.

"Well he can try that doesn't mean he'll succeed." She snorted.

"Still, is the least I can do after the way I acted earlier," he put his hands on the pockets of his jacket walking by her side, she did the same, in spite of being summer the nights in the mountain area were a bit chilly.

"I told you, it's okay, I can see why you where surprised, I should've let you know I was coming"

"Why didn't you?" She could feel his eyes on her but she kept looking to the front, they were approaching the street where the Dragon Tamer's cabins were located.

"I'm not sure, I guess I thought it would be awkward," she shrugged as she started to walk up the few steps that led to her cabin door. "This is me."

"Right, my cabin is the one over there" he pointed to the cabin in front of hers.

"Looks like we're neighbors." Hermione said with a soft smile.

"Looks like it." He was staring at her again, he didn't move, didn't say anything, just stood there looking at her.

"Would you like to come in? Have some tea maybe?" She asked turning around to undo her wards, not feeling brave enough to face him in case he said no, he had rejected her once, although this was a completely different situation.

"Sure, tea sounds good." He followed her inside, her cabin was small, there was a small sitting area with a fireplace to the right and a dinning table to the left, the small open kitchen was on the left corner just behind the dining area and there was a hallway leading to the bathroom and her bedroom, it was pretty much the same as his cabin.

She removed her jacket and left it on the back of the couch, he did the same, as she made her way to the kitchen she could feel his eyes following her every move. She filled the kettle with water and turned the stove on and began collecting the sugar and mugs to put them on the counter, when she turned around she found Charlie leaning against the kitchen cabinet just behind her.

"Hope you like Earl Grey tea because that's all I got."

"Earl Grey is fine." An awkward silence fell over them, she was chewing on her bottom lip as she always did when she was uncomfortable, he was still looking at her intently. "So...why did you thought it would be awkward?"

"What?"

"You said that you didn't owl me to let me know you were coming because you thought it would be awkward," he clarified, "Why?"

"You know why." She could feel the blush coming to her cheeks, suddenly finding one of the wood floor boards very interesting.

"I'm not sure I do." She heard him say.

"Come on Charlie, are you really going to make me say it?" She lifted her face to look at him annoyed.

"Is it because of what happened last Christmas?" She nodded before turning her eyes down again, feeling embarrassed with the topic, "There's nothing to feel awkward about that."

"For you maybe, you weren't the one to make a fool of yourself." She kept talking to the floor feeling her face burning with shame.

"You didn't make a fool of yourself Hermione, we were all pretty drunk and doing stupid things, that eggnog Hagrid makes is strong." He tried to joke to lighten her mood but it didn't seem to work.

"Right, stupid things," She mumbled turning around to pour the boiling water over the mugs, "Sugar?"

"Two please."

She took as long as she could finishing the tea, not feeling ready to turn around and face him, she could still feel her cheeks burning and she was sure her face was covered in a bright shade of red. She handed him his mug and drank from hers leaning a little further back against the kitchen counter as if that could somehow make her feel less embarrassed, he just kept looking at her, both remaining silent for a few minutes.

"Would you stop looking at me like that?" She finally snapped.

"Like what?"

"Like you feel sorry for me or something."

"Why would I feel sorry for you?" Charlie's face was a mix of amusement and curiosity.

"Because I kissed you and you rejected me." There she'd said it, she had acknowledged the big white elephant in the room, she forced herself not to look away from him.

"It wasn't like that Hermione."

"It was exactly like that, I remember." She said as defiantly as she could given the amount of embarrassment she was feeling.

"You were so drunk I'm surprised you do actually." He arched an eyebrow as he took another drink from his tea.

"You know what, it doesn't matter, I kissed you, you pushed me away, let's just leave it at that and pretend it never happened." Hermione eyed her cup of tea as if she wished it could swallow her and spit her out anywhere else but her kitchen.

"I don't want to pretend it never happened." He took a step closer to her, leaving his mug on the counter to her side and taking her mug from her hands to put it next to his.

"What?" That caught her by surprise. "Why not?"

"Because I _did_ wanted to kiss you." He took another step closer, so close that if she took a deep breath their chests would touch. "Just not like that."

"You did?..." She didn't know what else to say, she felt trapped in the intensity of his eyes, he put one of his hands on her waist, the other brushing her cheek softly.

"Believe me, it took all the strength I had at the moment to pull away from you," he leaned closer, his hand moved from her cheek to her neck, resting against it, his eyes flickered from hers to her lips as he traced the shape of her mouth with his thumb, slowly leaning closer, she felt the ghost touch of his lips in hers before they were startled by a loud beeping sound.

"Shit, that's my pager." Hermione grimaced.

"Let me guess, work?" He took a step back, his arms falling to his sides.

"Yes," Hermione went to the couch to grab her pager from the pocket of her jacket and touched it twice with her wand, the beeping sound stopping, "There's an emergency with one of my patients from today, I have to go."

"I'll let myself out." He walked to the front door while she went to the fireplace and grabbed some floo powder from a bowl in the mantle.

"See you later?" She asked and saw him nod in response before disappearing in a roar of green flames.

 **A/N: Okay so here you go, Chapter 2 already, I must confess I only have about 5 chapters pre-written, but I think I need to post more in order for you to form an opinion about it and review and let me know what you think.**

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter and leave your comments!**

 _ **xoxo - Dramoli**_


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